attempt
n. countablen. an act of trying to do something, especially something difficult. You use this when you are not sure if you will succeed.
n. an effort made to accomplish a task or achieve a goal, particularly one involving significant difficulty. Often followed by an infinitive or a prepositional phrase.
She made a brave attempt to climb the steep hill.
The rescue team made a final attempt to reach the trapped hikers before the storm arrived.
Despite several failed attempts to reform the tax code, the committee remains optimistic that the current proposal will gain enough support to pass the house.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Latin temptō Latin attemptōder. Old French atempterbor. Middle English attempten English attempt Late 14th century, as Middle English attempten, from Old French atempter, from Latin attemptō (“to try, solicit”), from ad- (“to”) + temptō; see tempt. The noun is from the 1530s, the sense "an assault on somebody's life, assassination attempt" (French attentat) is from 1580.
Commonly followed by 'to' + infinitive or 'at' + gerund.
an attempt of doing itan attempt to do itThe noun attempt is typically followed by a 'to-infinitive' rather than 'of' + gerund.